Even Perfection
by Tilea
Summary: Oneshot. PW Kink Meme request. Miles cares for Franziska after she falls ill.


(Hello again! Filling another PW Kink Meme request and thought I'd put it up here! Just a short little one, probably the shortest I've written. I'm not too sure.)

**Disclaimer: **All three characters in/mentioned in this story are property of Capcom.

**Even Perfection**

How could this have happened

How could this have happened!? An outrage! A complete and utter humiliation!

Franziska von Karma stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, just trying so hard to make herself look as perfect and beautiful as she always did, but today it just wasn't working! She felt awful, and in turn, it made her look awful. She'd barely slept, but the dark circles under her eyes were nothing. She was very pale and just… droopy-looking. She was disgusted at herself!

Furious, and with a terrible headache, Franziska threw her hair brush down on the bathroom counter and stomped off to the kitchen for a quick breakfast. She'd have to settle for her appearance. Most wouldn't think she really looked too bad, but of course her standards were much higher than those of most people. Still, she had to go into work! Perfection never missed a day of work! That was just unheard of!

She was already annoyed, so when the doorbell rang, she actually growled to herself in frustration. Planning to unleash her wrath at whoever would come to call at six thirty in the morning, Franziska made her way to the front door and pulled it open, a glare fixed on her face.

"…Miles Edgeworth! What are you doing here first thing in the morning?!"

At her doorstep stood the calm and collected Miles Edgeworth, gray hair and magenta suit in perfect order, his hands in his jacket pockets. He gave the young woman a strange look, when she asked him this question, raising an eyebrow at her. "I believe I offered to drive you to work this morning before leaving work yesterday night," he stated calmly, far too accustomed to her temper to be surprised. However, what did surprise him was the way she looked and sounded. "Franziska, are you feeling all right?"

She continued to glare at him, ignoring her own mistake. "Hmph! I'm perfectly fine, Little Brother. Why would I not b-" She was abruptly cut off as she had to quickly cover her mouth with a hand to stop herself from sneezing all over him.

Miles frowned a bit with concern and steopped forward, reaching up to place the back of his hand against her forehead. "You're burning up," he observed, also taking note of her pallor and the dark rings under her eyes. "Franziska, you're ill. Go back to bed."

Franziska reached up to smack his hand away. "I said I'm fine, Miles Edgeworth! I will do no such thing! I will not ruin my record of perfect attendance because of a foolish illness!"

Miles stayed calm, still presenting a bit of a frown. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," he began, now putting a hand on her shoulder, "but your health takes priority over your perfect attendance record. If you don't take some time off to rest and recover, you'll only get worse."

She glowered at him, but didn't push his hand away this time. "Oh really? And what do you know about it? You're no doctor!" Franziska had never been ill in her life! Not even once, and she knew that if she had fallen ill as a child, she would have received no sympathy or reprieves from her father. She would have had to work just as much as usual, so why should now be any different.

Miles sighed, shaking his head. "A PHD is not required to know when it's time to use your Sick Leave. Now, go lie down. I'll make you something to eat for breakfast."

Franziska balled one of her hands into a fist. "I already told you! I'm not going t-"

Miles observed her stop suddenly, and saw the sudden tinge of green in her cheeks. He could tell just by her expression what was about to happen, and he nudged her toward the bathroom. Franziska turned and ran with her hand over her mouth, and made it just in time.

Miles followed her into the bathroom as she knelt in front of the toilet, coughing up whatever she'd eaten the previous night. Silently, he walked up behind her and combed her hair back out of the way with his fingers, holding back until she was finished. Then, he went quickly to the kitchen to retrieve a glass, and as she slowly pulled herself up and flushed the revolting product of her nausea down, he filled the glass with water from the bathroom sink and handed it over to her so that she could rinse her mouth out.

After this was done and she'd stopped panting, Franziska set the glass on the bathroom sink and looked up at her brother. _"….Danke…." _she mumbled, not even attempting to straighten herself out. She had finally given up the fight, knowing that he was right in telling her to take the day off.

"_Bitte," _he replied, giving her a little half-smile, and picking up the glass. "Now, go lie down. I'll stay and make sure you're properly taken care of."

Franziska opened her mouth to argue, but Miles put his free hand up to stop her. He shook his head, and then turned to leave the bathroom. Franziska closed her mouth, and then sighed, lowering her head in defeat. Fine… Let the foolish man use up his vacation days to play doctor. If she had to stay home, she might as well take advantage of the opportunity to relax and be cared for by someone else.

While Franziska removed her dress and such, dawning a white cotton robe with a golden tie instead, Miles took the glass out to the kitchen to put it in the dishwasher and then began to make her a bowl of oatmeal. He also made some hot peppermint tea for her, knowing that it was great for settling one's stomach. He brought these to her while she sat in bed, only her legs covered with the comforter. She couldn't seem to get a comfortable temperature. She was freezing, but if she covered herself with a blanket, she began to sweat terribly.

He placed a cup of tea on her nightstand beside her and then placed the bowl of oatmeal – which sat on a plate to help prevent a mess – on her lap. She thanked him quietly then began to stir her spoon around in the hot cereal, realizing she didn't have an appetite at all after vomiting up last night's dinner. "…I don't know if I can eat it…" she finally said after a while, still mumbling as she stared at the contents of the bowl.

Miles took a seat on the edge of her bed and placed a hand on her knee. "Just try," he said, his tone much softer than usual. "You should be able to keep that down, and the tea will help as well. Just take your time."

Franziska felt queasy, but she brought the spoon to her lips anyway, and after lightly blowing on it a few times to cool it down, took a bite. It was difficult, but she continued to do this, taking this process much slower than was usual for her just to make sure it didn't come back up. She also carefully sipped the hot tea, which was starting to noticeably settle the churning in her stomach.

And Miles stayed right there with her, patient and calm. He was finding that he rather enjoyed taking care of her, for it wasn't often he ever got the chance to. Franziska was an independent, headstrong woman who refused to let anyone guard or support her, thus she was very cold. They'd been closer as children before she became so cold, so today was actually like a window into the past when she had willingly looked to him for comfort and protection when it was needed. They were adults now and things had changed, but that didn't mean they had to sever all ties of affection, as much as she thought they had to.

After she'd eaten all she could, she passed her dishes to Miles who took them without hesitation. He also took her cup in order to refill it, returning with it moments later along with a bottle of pills. He set the cup down and then proceeded to extract two small, white pills from the bottle and hand them over to her. "Those will help," he assured her. "They'll also make you sleepy; I can see that you haven't had much luck sleeping."

Franziska said nothing, just took the medication and lay then leaned back against the headboard. She was too warm to lie down and cover up, but already so tired thanks to her lack of sleep the previous night.

Miles moved to sit down on the bed with her, leaning against the headboard as she was. He reached over to the table on the side of the bed that he was on and picked up a book that was lying there. When they were children, he would often sit and read law books to her, especially when she looked to be much too tired to read on her own. Manfred had never seemed to mind this because they were studying law, reading a book, and as long as he heard Miles reading, he had always just assumed that Franziska was awake and alert, listening intently. Of course, that's how she always was to begin with, but if she'd been tired enough, she'd always ended up falling asleep on his shoulder. She'd never been caught doing this, so Miles had found it a great way to help her relax and catch up on her sleep.

So, naturally, this was the first idea that had popped into his head. He opened the book to the page she had marked and began to read the text allowed. Franziska had considered laughing and calling out his foolish nostalgia, but the honest truth was that she'd missed this, enjoyed it. She sat and listened quietly, letting the sound of his voice calm her. Eventually, she took a pillow and placed it against his leg, lying down on her side and resting her head against him.

A little smile appeared on the older prosecutor's lips, but he said nothing about it. He just continued to read until he glanced down to see that she was fast asleep. He closed the book and then reached forward to pull a blanket up over her, staying where he was in order to avoid disturbing her much-needed sleep. He gently combed his fingers through her hair, a soothing action, trying to keep her relaxed and at peace, resting.

Even perfection needs a day off every once in a while.


End file.
